View source for Loutraki

{{Short description|Seaside resort in Corinthia, Greece}}
{{No footnotes|date=January 2011}}
[[File:loutraki.jpg|thumb|Loutraki]]
[[File:Λουτράκι - panoramio.jpg|thumb|View from the monastery of [[Patapios|Saint Patapios]]]]
[[File:Patapius.jpg|thumb|Inside the monastery of Saint Patapios]]
[[File:Vouliagmeni, Corinth.jpg|thumb|The Vouliagmeni lake]]
[[File:Bicycle sharing Loutraki, Greece.jpg|thumb|Bicycle sharing]]

'''Loutraki''' ({{langx|el|Λουτράκι}}) is a seaside resort on the [[Gulf of Corinth]], in [[Corinthia]], [[Greece]]. It is located {{convert|81|km|0|abbr=off}} west of [[Athens]] and {{convert|8|km|0|abbr=off}} northeast of [[Corinth]]. Loutraki is the seat of the municipality [[Loutraki-Perachora-Agioi Theodoroi]]. The town is known for its vast natural springs and its therapeutic spas. There are many tourists who visit Loutraki every year (especially in summer) because of its crystal clear sea. The Casino of Loutraki has thousands of visitors every day.{{fact|date=May 2019}} The population in 2021 was 12,212 people.

==History==
In antiquity a town called Thermae ({{langx|el|Θερμαί}}, hot springs) existed on the site. In 1847, an announcement in Italy asserting the therapeutic benefits of bathing in the natural thermal spas found in Loutraki caused an influx of settlers in the surrounding areas, thereby creating modern Loutraki. In 1928, Loutraki was completely destroyed by an earthquake, and rebuilt. A large park was created by claiming land from the sea, using the rubble of the fallen houses. Another strong earthquake hit the area in 1981 but with less destructive effects.

==Name==
The name ''Loutraki'' is a direct reference to the thermal spas of the region. It derives from the ''Loutro(n)'' ({{langx|el|Λουτρό(ν)}}) that means bath, bath-house, spa or [[thermae]]. The Greek word loutro is directly translated as [[thermae]] in English, which was also the ancient name of the region.

==Geography==
The town is bordered by the [[Gulf of Corinth]] in the west, while the mountain range of [[Geraneia]] dominates north and east. There is a small valley in the southwest that leads to the [[Isthmus of Corinth]]. Although part of [[Corinthia|Corinthia Prefecture]], Loutraki is situated northwest of the [[Corinth Canal]] thus not on the [[Peloponnese]].

==Sightseeing==
A monastery named [[Saint Patapios|Osios Patapios]] is located about {{convert|10|km|0|abbr=on}} NW of Loutraki on Geraneia mountain, offering great view of the [[Isthmus of Corinth|Isthmos]] area and the [[Gulf of Corinth]].

Loutraki is well known for its [[Casino]] (Club Hotel Casino Loutraki), one of the biggest in Europe.
 
The [[Heraion of Perachora]] (sanctuary of the goddess [[Hera]]) is an archaeological site of great significance located at the end of the [[Perachora]] peninsula and for the Vouliagmeni lake.

Visitors and tourists can visit several buildings of Loutraki. 
* On G. Lekkas str. there is a two-story house, built in 1928, which bears the hallmarks of his era (single volume and form a solid banister, exciting door). It holds a position in the urban fabric of the region and is an interesting group with other buildings of the street.{{or-inline|date=May 2019}}{{fact|date=May 2019}}
* Also on G. Lekkas str. is the landmark building of the hotel "Palace", built in 1923 and owned by the George K. Aggelidis Hotel Company SA. This five-storey hotel was repaired in 1928 after an earthquake. The vertical axis of symmetry is predominant. Two marble staircases face each other, passing under the arched openings. The last two floors are unified, with the central part protruding from the building and raised at the end. The decorations are linear. The bearing structure consists of masonry, blocks, reinforced concrete.{{fact|date=May 2019}}
* One of the old villas of the old town of Loutraki is on Syros str., with an area of 135 sq.m., which was built in 1956 on the site of a pre-1950 house. The bearing structure consists of reinforced concrete. The purchase and renovation was the work of the Cypriot industrialist distiller Kekkos Ioannidis, when he came to Greece from the Congo of Africa. It bears the hallmarks of his era (simple volume and format, high ceilings, mosaics, solid gate and door), has large terraces, and is surrounded by gardens with fruit trees and roses, the latter of which dominate a fountain garden. Today is in the hands of another owner, who erected in the garden a bronze bust of General George V. Papagiannopoulos, who was wounded in the war.{{fact|date=May 2019}}

==Nearest places==
*[[Perachora]] (NW)
*[[Corinth]] (SW)

==Historical population==
{| class=wikitable
! Year !! Town population
|-
| 1981 || 8,543
|-
| 1991 || 9,388
|-
| 2001 || 11,383
|}

== Notable people ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2011}}
*[[Anna Synodinou]] (1927–2016), actress and politician
*[[Pantelis Zervos]] (1913–1991), actor

==Twin towns — sister cities==
Loutraki is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with [[Cēsis]], Latvia.

==See also==
*[[List of settlements in Corinthia]]
*[[Loutraki-Perachora]]
*[[Perachora]]

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{wikivoyage|Loutraki}}
*[http://www.loutraki.gr Municipality of Loutraki]
*[http://www.visitloutraki.com The official Loutraki Tourism Website]

{{Geographic location
| Northwest = [[Geraneia]] mountains and [[Perachora]] (NW)
| Southwest = [[Corinthian Gulf]] and [[Corinth, Greece|Corinth]] (SW)
| Centre = Loutraki
| Northeast = [[Saronic Gulf]] and [[Agioi Theodoroi]] (NE)
| Southeast = [[Corinthian Gulf]] and [[Isthmus of Corinth|Isthmus]] (SE)
}}

{{Loutraki-Perachora-Agioi Theodoroi div}}

{{coord|37|58|30|N|22|58|36|E|type:city|display=title}}

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Populated places in Corinthia]]
[[Category:Loutraki-Perachora-Agioi Theodoroi]]
[[Category:Seaside resorts in Greece]]
[[Category:Spa towns in Greece]]
[[Category:Acropolis Rally]]